Drawing the Line...

The other day I needed to cut a piece of wood into a specific shape (which
happened to be a large oval). I didn't have anything that was the exact
shape I could trace on the wood. I had drawn the shape to scale on my
computer, but how to transfer that image onto the wood? In the end I
painstkingly drew a grid, and copied the pattern on that way. The result
wasn't as accurate as I would have liked, but with a bit of patience and a
lot of sanding I got something that looked pretty good.
In any case, I'm thinking that there has to be a better way. Any ideas?
John

result
Print it out (use multiple sheets if necessary) lay it on top of your wood
and use a knife or a pattern makers wheel (I forgot what the technical name
is for this, but it is a handle with a little wheel with sharp points that
you simply roll along the line and it pokes through the paper and leaves a
trail of prick marks) to transfer the pattern.
The alternative is to use traditional geometric methods to lay it out. For a
true oval, two centers and a piece of in-elastic string will allow you to
draw this quite quickly.
-Jack

George's comment refreshed my memory. When I bought one 15 years ago it was
called a pounce wheel. Guess the name has become simplified.
I'm not that old, but there are starting to be words that I used to use
which are becoming obsolete. Putty is one of them. I used to buy glazing
putty, now I buy glazing compound. You can find all sorts of filler, caulk,
sealant etc. but not much putty to be found anymore.
-Jack

Huh? I don't get this.
Sounds like you are trying to slam those who you consider "politically
correct".
That wasn't my point. My point is that "putty" is becoming obsolete.
Same with "record player" and a host of other words I used to use.
This makes me feel old. Nothing political about it.
-Jack

I was there for the transition. I took "typing," on an ancient, battered
Royal with no 1. Then a few years later I took "keyboarding" on one of
those then-new fancy electronic flummies with the erase key.
I suppose these days no typewriters are involved at all.

That new math is *nuts*.
I've never been that much of a math whiz to start with (more like a total
moron) but I can't help my kid with his homework because I have no flippin'
idea how to do that crazy nonsense they're teaching these days.

For those of us old enough to recall, "new math" will always be the jump
into hex and octal in the sixties, when everyone figured we'd be talking to
computers in their language. Political correctness never became a buzz-term
until the minority began to lecture the majority. Destruction of consensus
is one thing, but you should have some rational basis for it.
What is it Tom Lehrer said - "base eight is just like base ten - if you're
missing two fingers."

I've heard the term "new math" for years and could never figure out what
people were talking about. It's the same now as it has always been. It
finally acured to me what it meant. It is an excuse people use to justify
their inability to manipulate numbers.

Well, it's the same for me because I started school in the 1960's. ;-) For
those who went in the 50's and before the methods changed. Here are the
lyrics from a Tom Lehrer song:
http://wiw.org/~drz/tom.lehrer/the_year.html#math
-- Mark

If your time frame is correct, no one under the age of 70 should have any
problem. Then again, even if they were past that age, if they had any kind
of brain, they wouldn't have any problem either. Numbers are numbers.

Wel, it occurs to me that I recall set theory being called "new math" and I
also recall it being rather poorly taught. Fortunately, it didn't come along
until I was in college, so it didn't destroy what little math ability I have.
Charlie Self
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know
for sure that just ain't so."
Mark Twain

I
along
have.
Seems to me, I learned about sets and subsets about three years in a row in
early grade school, when I should have been learning arithmetic. Others say
what they want, I think it did hurt my math abilities. How could it not?

(SWMBO is a teacher & I pick these fights from time to time. <g>)
Arithmetic & math are not the same thing. Arithmetic is the grinding
of
numbers, in this day and age most properly done with a calculator or
computer. Math is applying principles towards the correct solution of
a
problem. The most brilliant person I ever met was a Ph.D. who was
fantastic
at math but LOUSY at arithmetic. In the "real world" that's not a
handicap
because computers do all the boring arithmetic anyway.
<picking a fight>
Your learning set theory in grade school detracted from your arithmetic
skills learning in the same way that an extra period of French, Social
Studies, or even Recess would have. It was simply time devoted to a
completely different subject. IMO it's more important to learn how to
think
than to attempt to learn to beat a $5 calculator.
</picking a fight>
<g>
-- Mark

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